The Goldfields region of Victoria is a

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

commonly used but typically defined in both

historical geography Historical geography is the branch of geography that studies the ways in which geographic phenomena have changed over time. It is a synthesizing discipline which shares both topical and methodological similarities with history, anthropology, eco ...

and

tourism geography Tourism geography is the study of travel and tourism, as an industry and as a social and cultural activity. Tourism geography covers a wide range of interests including the environmental impact of tourism, the geographies of tourism and leisure ec ...

(in particular

heritage tourism Cultural heritage tourism (or just heritage tourism) is a branch of tourism oriented towards the cultural heritage of the location where tourism is occurring. The National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States defines heritage t ...

). The region is also known as the Victorian Golden Triangle.

Description

Aerial panorama of Blue Waters lake in Creswick

It takes in a specific area of

North Central Victoria North Central Victoria is a rural region in the Australian state of Victoria. The region lies to the south of the Victorian/New South Wales border as defined by the Murray River, to the southwest of the Hume region, to the west of the Great D ...

, the major cities of Ballarat and Bendigo as well as smaller centres including Daylesford, Castlemaine and Maryborough. It extends as far north as Inglewood and St Arnaud. It encroaches on the Western District near Ararat. Other significant towns include Maldon, Creswick, Clunes, Avoca and

Buninyong Buninyong is a town 11 km from Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. The town is on the Midland Highway, south of Ballarat on the road to Geelong. Buninyong was proclaimed a town on 27 June 1851 on the same day as Winchelsea, Portarlington, L ...

. Although the region has a strong association with the

Victorian gold rush The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. It led to a period of extreme prosperity for the Australian colony, and an influx of population growth and financial capit ...

there are, however, significant towns associated with the gold rush and gold mining located outside of this region - notable examples include Warburton, Walhalla,

Warrandyte Warrandyte is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 24 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Manningham local government area. Warrandyte recorded a population of 5,541 at the . Warrandyt ...

, Chiltern and

Beechworth Beechworth is a well-preserved historical town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s. At the , Beechworth had a population of 3,859. Beechworth's many histor ...

. The goldfields region is more strongly linked to the impact of the

Victorian Gold Rush The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. It led to a period of extreme prosperity for the Australian colony, and an influx of population growth and financial capit ...

than the discovery of gold in Victoria. As a result of the gold rush, the region contains many old buildings, including celebrated examples of

Victorian architecture Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian we ...

, some of which are heritage listed, while others have fallen into disrepair and become derelict. Many of the towns were far larger during the Gold Rush than they are now, and there are some examples of

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

s in the region. Major tourism icons include

Sovereign Hill Sovereign Hill is an open-air museum in Golden Point, a suburb of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Sovereign Hill depicts Ballarat's first ten years after the discovery of gold there in 1851. It was officially opened on 29 November 1970 and has ...

Eureka Stockade The Eureka Rebellion was a series of events involving gold miners who revolted against the British administration of the colony of Victoria, Australia during the Victorian gold rush. It culminated in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, which ...

site and the Bendigo Talking Tram. The region is also associated with the

origins Origin(s) or The Origin may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics and manga * ''Origin'' (comics), a Wolverine comic book mini-series published by Marvel Comics in 2002 * ''The Origin'' (Buffy comic), a 1999 ''Buffy the Vampire Sl ...

of Australian rules football;

Tom Wills Thomas Wentworth Wills (19 August 1835 – 2 May 1880) was an Australian sportsman who is credited with being Australia's first cricketer of significance and a founder of Australian rules football. Born in the British penal colony of New ...

, one of the game's founders, grew up outside present-day Moyston, the self-proclaimed "Birthplace of Australian Football". Some of the earliest clubs were also established in the region. Aerial perspective of St Georges Lake in Creswick

Aerial perspective of St Georges Lake in Creswick

Demographically, the population of the region is approximately 244,900Victorian Population Bulletin 2006, Dept. of Sustainability & Environment The region has a well-defined

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

tourist route. The area retains a significant

gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold resources by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. However, with the expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface, ...

industry and remains a popular for

fossicking In Australia, New Zealand and Cornwall, fossicking is prospecting, especially when carried out as a recreational activity. This can be for gold, precious stones, fossils, etc. by sifting through a prospective area. In Australian English and New ...

. The Goldfields region is also associated as a wine growing region with a large number of established

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineya ...

s and popular

wineries A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, b ...

. An important ecosystem associated with the region is the Box-Ironbark forest, now much fragmented and cleared but still important for the conservation of many birds and other animals.

Gallery

File:Ballarat lydiard sturt.jpg, Corner Sturt and Lydiard Streets, Ballarat File:Bendigo talking tram.jpg, Pall Mall, Bendigo, with Talking Tram File:Sovereign Hill - Main St S from Golden Point Rd 2.jpg, Sovereign Hill open-air museum, a large tourist attraction in Ballarat File:MaldonStreetscape.JPG, Maldon's famous historic streetscapes File:Sluicing-the-lerderderg.jpg, Sluicing in the Lerderderg Gorge, between Blackwood and Bacchus Marsh File:Bendigo diggings gold mine c 1857.png, Bendigo diggings gold mine in c.1857 - Bendigo, Victoria, Australia File:Group of diggers.jpg,

Richard Daintree Richard Daintree CMG (13 December 1832 – 20 June 1878) was a pioneering Australian geologist and photographer. In particular, Daintree was the first Government geologist for North Queensland discovering gold fields and coal seams for future ...

and Antoine Fauchery (circa 1858) A gang of diggers at Forrest Creek, Chewton File:Old Post Office Hill, Forest Creek.jpg, Richard Daintree, Castlemaine gold diggings on 15 January 1858, Forrest Creek File:FL15629727.jpg, Daintree, Richard, (1858) Great Eastern Tunnel, 1500 feet long, Jim Crow diggings, Daylesford File:Chinese Encampment Guildford.jpg, Richard Daintree (c.1858) ''Chinese gold mining encampment at Guildford''

References

External links

Goldfields Guide

Goldfields, Victoria
at Visit Victoria {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldfields Region Of Victoria Regions of Victoria (Australia) Geography of Victoria (Australia) Mining in Victoria (Australia) Grampians (region)

Description

See also

Gallery

References

External links